Consider Framing Guidelines For Issuance Of Notice Of Appearance Before Police Officers U/S 41A CrPC: Jharkhand HC To State Govt

In an important order, the Jharkhand High Court has asked the State of Jharkhand to consider framing appropriate guidelines regarding issuance of notice of appearance before police officers under Section 41A CrPC so that Jharkhand Police may be referred to as a Model Police.The bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi also referred to the Delhi High Court's 2018 ruling wherein guidelines for issuing a notice of appearance before police officers under Section 41A of the Code of Criminal procedure were laid down. The Court in the instant case also quashed an FIR filed under section 498A in view of the lack of territorial jurisdiction and expected that Jharkhand police would become model police by adopting the format of notice under section 41A CrPC as prescribed by the Delhi High Court in case of Amandeep Singh Johar. Noting that in the instant case, petitioners 1 and 2 have been arrested without following the due process of law, the Court asked the State of Jharkhand to come forward with certain guidelines so that in such matters, which is trivial in nature, the innocent people may not be arrested only due to highhandedness of the police The case in brief In the instant case, a woman had lodged an FIR under section 498-A IPC against her in-laws and her husband alleging that they used to harass and torture her in connection with a demand for dowry. Further, the Court stressed that a wife, who is ousted from the house and residing along with her parents at that particular place also, can file a case where she is residing, however, in the instant case, since the wife is residing in Germany in her husband's house, therefore, the Court held that Jamshedpur police was having no jurisdiction to lodge the FIR.